GIRL RECOVERING FROM MENINGITIS

A Virginia Lake School pupil is recovering from bacterial meningitis, a sometimes deadly infectious disease that has stricken at least three other young suburban residents within the last month.

The girl apparently contracted the disease during spring break, March 29 to April 2, school officials said Wednesday.

Administrators were notified by the Cook County Department of Public Health about the girl's illness last week, said principal Gretchen Ludwig. Health officials, she said, indicated the girl posed no threat to other pupils because the disease's incubation period occurred during the break.

"We sent letters home to parents," Ludwig said. "We told them the danger has long since passed."

The girl was released from Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago on Sunday. She is expected to return to school by month's end, Ludwig said.

Cases in the Chicago area include a 20-year-old northwest suburban woman who was hospitalized at Hoffman Estates Medical Center; a 16-year-old Fremd High School student who was being treated at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago; and a 15-year-old Naperville North High School student who was recovering at Edward Hospital in Naperville.

The conditions of all three have been upgraded to stable or fair.

Officials at the Illinois Department of Public Health said that 36 meningitis cases have been reported this year, roughly the same as in 1992. Though not highly contagious, the disease can be spread by kissing or sharing a glass or cup with an infected person or exposure to moisture from the infected person's sneeze.

Health officials advise parents to seek immediate medical attention for their children if they come down with the disease's symptoms, which include headache, fever, stiff neck, nausea and a rash.